Liquid crystal display

ABSTRACT

A liquid crystal display includes: a first insulation substrate; a gate line disposed on the first insulation substrate; a first data line and a second data line disposed on the first insulation substrate; a color filter disposed on the first insulation substrate and disposed between the first data line and the second data line; a first light blocking member disposed on the first data line and the second data line; and a second light blocking member disposed on the color filter and the first light blocking member, extending in the same direction as the gate line, and overlapping the first light blocking member on the first data line and the second data line.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/839,095, filed on Mar. 15, 2013, which claims priority to KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2012-0110866, filed on Oct. 5, 2012, and allthe benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. § 119, the content ofwhich in its entirety is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

(a) Field

Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a liquid crystaldisplay.

(b) Description of the Related Art

A liquid crystal display, which is one of the most widely used types offlat panel displays, includes two sheets of display panels with fieldgenerating electrodes such as a pixel electrode and a common electrodeand a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween. The liquid crystaldisplay generates an electric field in the liquid crystal layer byapplying voltage to the field generating electrodes, and determines thedirection of liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer by thegenerated electric field, thus controlling polarization of incidentlight to display images.

Among the liquid crystal displays, a vertically aligned mode liquidcrystal display has been in the limelight, as the vertically alignedmode liquid crystal display including liquid crystal molecules,longitudinal axes of which are arranged substantially vertical to thedisplay panel when the electric field is not applied, typically has alarge contrast ratio and easily implements a wide reference viewingangle.

In the vertically aligned mode liquid crystal display, a plurality ofdomains having different alignment directions of the liquid crystal maybe disposed in one pixel to implement a wide viewing angle.

In the vertically aligned mode liquid crystal display, a method offorming cutouts such as minute slits at the field generating electrodeor a method of forming protrusions on the field generating electrode isused to provide the domains. The method may be used to provide thedomains by aligning the liquid crystal in a vertical direction to afringe field by the fringe field generated between the cutout or an edgeof the protrusion and the field generating electrode opposed thereto.

In the liquid crystal display, a light blocking member is disposed at aposition where a thin film transistor or the like is disposed toeffectively prevent leakage current of a channel layer due to light.Further, when both a color filter and the light blocking member aredisposed on a thin film transistor array panel, light leakage due toarrangement error of two display panels, which may occur in the casewhere the color filter and the light blocking member are disposed on acommon electrode display panel, may be effectively prevented.

In the liquid crystal display, in the case where the light blockingmember is provided on the thin film transistor array panel, the lightblocking member may not be provided on the channel part of the thin filmtransistor so as to efficiently repair a defect of the thin filmtransistor during the manufacturing process thereof, and a coloredmember is typically provided to cover the channel part of the thin filmtransistor after repairing the thin film transistor.

SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a liquid crystaldisplay, in which light leakage due to an arrangement error iseffectively prevented by providing a color filter and a light blockingmember on a thin film transistor array panel, a performancecharacteristic of a thin film transistor is effectively prevented fromdeteriorating by additional thin film, which is provided to compensate astep of the light blocking member, and the thin film transistor isefficiently repaired during a manufacturing process thereof.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention provides a liquid crystaldisplay including: a first insulation substrate; a gate line disposed onthe first insulation substrate; a first data line and a second data linedisposed on the first insulation substrate; a color filter disposed onthe first insulation substrate and disposed between the first data lineand the second data line; a first light blocking member disposed on thefirst data line and the second data line; and a second light blockingmember disposed on the color filter and the first light blocking member,extending in the same direction as the gate line, and overlapping thefirst light blocking member on the first data line and the second dataline.

In an exemplary embodiment, a width of the first light blocking membermay be substantially constant.

In an exemplary embodiment, the second light blocking member may includea first portion, a second portion, and a third portion, and thicknessesof the first, second and third portions are different from each other.

In an exemplary embodiment, the liquid crystal display may furtherinclude a pixel electrode disposed on the color filter and including afirst subpixel electrode and a second subpixel electrode separated fromeach other with the gate line, which is disposed between the first andsecond subpixel electrodes; a first thin film transistor connected tothe first subpixel electrode; and a second thin film transistorconnected to the second subpixel electrode, in which the second lightblocking member may extend along the gate line and cover the first thinfilm transistor and the second thin film transistor.

In an exemplary embodiment, each of the first subpixel electrode and thesecond subpixel electrode may include a plurality of stems and aplurality of branch electrodes protruding from the stems.

In an exemplary embodiment, the second light blocking member may includea first portion and a second portion, and thicknesses of the first andsecond portion may be different from each other.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first portion may contact a surface of athin film which is disposed on a second insulation substrate disposedopposite to the first insulation substrate.

In an exemplary embodiment, the second portion may include a firstregion at which the second portion overlaps the first light blockingmember and a second region which is a remaining region thereof, and adistance between the first region and the surface of the thin filmdisposed on the second insulation substrate may be less than a distancebetween the second region and the surface of the thin film disposed onthe second insulation substrate.

In an exemplary embodiment, a width of the first light blocking memberat an overlapping portion of the first light blocking member and thesecond light blocking member may be less than a width of the remainingportion of the first light blocking member.

In an exemplary embodiment, a width of the first light blocking membermay be about 0.7 micrometer (μm) at an overlapping portion of the firstlight blocking member and the second light blocking member.

In an exemplary embodiment, a thickness of the first light blockingmember may be decreased as being closer to a center of the second lightblocking member from the overlapping portion of the first light blockingmember and the second light blocking member.

In an exemplary embodiment, the thickness of the first light blockingmember may be about 0 μm at the center of the second light blockingmember.

In an exemplary embodiment, the liquid crystal display may furtherinclude a color filter disposed between two adjacent data lines, a firstlight blocking member disposed on the data lines, and a second lightblocking member disposed on the color filter in a region where the thinfilm transistor is disposed, in which the first light blocking memberand the second light blocking member may be overlapping at least aportion of each other.

According to exemplary embodiments of the invention, light leakage inthe region adjacent to the data line and the gate line is effectivelyprevented while the light leakage due to the arrangement error iseffectively prevented by the color filter and the light blocking memberdisposed on the thin film transistor array panel. In such embodiments, aperformance characteristic of the thin film transistor is effectivelyprevented from deteriorating due to formation of a thin film due to thestep of the first light blocking member by the color filter disposed onthe thin film transistor without providing the first light blockingmember on the thin film transistor for efficiently repair of the thinfilm transistor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features of the invention will become more apparentby describing in further detail exemplary embodiments thereof withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a pixel of an exemplaryembodiment of a liquid crystal display according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a pixel of an exemplary embodiment of theliquid crystal display according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of the liquidcrystal display of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a unit region of a pixel electrode of anexemplary embodiment of the liquid crystal display according to theinvention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process in which liquid crystalmolecules have pretilts using a prepolymer polymerized by light such asultraviolet light;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of two pixels of an exemplary embodiment ofthe liquid crystal display according to the invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII of the liquidcrystal display of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII of theliquid crystal display of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX of the liquidcrystal display of FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X of the liquidcrystal display of FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of another alternative exemplaryembodiment of the liquid crystal display according to the invention,which corresponds to a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III ofthe liquid crystal display of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 12 to 14 are cross-sectional views of an alternative exemplaryembodiment of the liquid crystal display according to the invention,which correspond to cross-sectional views taken along lines VII-VII,VIII-VIII and IV-IV of the liquid crystal display of FIG. 6;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative exemplary embodimentof the liquid crystal display according to the invention, whichcorresponds to a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of theliquid crystal display of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 16 to 18 are cross-sectional views of an alternative exemplaryembodiment of the liquid crystal display according to the invention,which correspond to cross-sectional views taken along lines VII-VII,VIII-VIII and IV-IV of the liquid crystal display of FIG. 6;

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative exemplary embodimentof the liquid crystal display according to the invention, whichcorresponds to a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of theliquid crystal display of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 20 to 22 are cross-sectional views of an alternative exemplaryembodiment of the liquid crystal display according to another exemplaryembodiment of the invention, which correspond to cross-sectional viewstaken along lines VII-VII, VIII-VIII and IV-IV of the liquid crystaldisplay of FIG. 6;

FIG. 23 is a layout view illustrating two pixels of an alternativeexemplary embodiment of the liquid crystal display according to theinvention;

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXIV-XXIV of theliquid crystal display of FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXV-XXV of the liquidcrystal display of FIG. 23;

FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXVI-XXVI of theliquid crystal display of FIG. 23;

FIG. 27 is a layout view illustrating two pixels of the liquid crystaldisplay according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXVIII-XXVIII of theliquid crystal display of FIG. 27;

FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXIX-XXIX of theliquid crystal display of FIG. 27;

FIG. 30 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXX-XXX of the liquidcrystal display of FIG. 27;

FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXXI-XXXI of theliquid crystal display of FIG. 27;

FIG. 32 is a top plan view of two pixels of another alternativeexemplary embodiment of the liquid crystal display according to theinvention;

FIG. 33 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXXIII-XXXIII of theliquid crystal display of FIG. 32;

FIG. 34 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXXIV-XXXIV of theliquid crystal display of FIG. 32;

FIG. 35 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXXV-XXXV of theliquid crystal display of FIG. 32;

FIG. 36 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXXVI-XXXVI of theliquid crystal display of FIG. 32;

FIG. 37 is a top plan view of two pixels of another alternativeexemplary embodiment of the liquid crystal display according to theinvention;

FIG. 38 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXXVIII-XXXVIII ofthe liquid crystal display of FIG. 37; and

FIG. 39 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXXIX-XXXIX of theliquid crystal display of FIG. 37.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of theinvention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in manydifferent forms, and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Likereference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to asbeing “on”, “connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, itcan be directly on, connected or coupled to the other element or layeror intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when anelement is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to”or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there are nointervening elements or layers present. Like numbers refer to likeelements throughout. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any andall combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. maybe used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layersand/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/orsections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only usedto distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section fromanother region, layer or section. Thus, a first element, component,region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a secondelement, component, region, layer or section without departing from theteachings of the invention.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”,“upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description todescribe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) orfeature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that thespatially relative terms are intended to encompass differentorientations of the device in use or operation in addition to theorientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in thefigures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” otherelements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elementsor features. Thus, the exemplary term “below” can encompass both anorientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented(rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relativedescriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms, “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes”and/or “including”, when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

Exemplary embodiments are described herein with reference to crosssection illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealizedembodiments. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations asa result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances,are to be expected. Thus, embodiments described herein should not beconstrued as limited to the particular shapes of regions as illustratedherein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example,from manufacturing. For example, a region illustrated or described asflat may, typically, have rough and/or nonlinear features. Moreover,sharp angles that are illustrated may be rounded. Thus, the regionsillustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes arenot intended to illustrate the precise shape of a region and are notintended to limit the scope of the claims set forth herein.

All methods described herein can be performed in a suitable order unlessotherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “suchas”), is intended merely to better illustrate the invention and does notpose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwiseclaimed. No language in the specification should be construed asindicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of theinvention as used herein.

First, a layout of signal lines and a pixel of an exemplary embodimentof a liquid crystal display according to the invention and a drivingmethod thereof will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is anequivalent circuit diagram of a pixel of an exemplary embodiment of aliquid crystal display according to the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, in an exemplary embodiment, a pixel PX, e.g., asingle pixel, of the liquid crystal display includes a plurality ofsignal lines including a gate line GL that transfers a gate signal, adata line DL that transfers a data signal, and a divided referencevoltage line RL that transfers divided reference voltage, and first,second and third switching elements Qa, Qb and Qc and first and secondliquid crystal capacitors Clca and Clcb, which are connected to thesignal lines.

The first and the second switching elements Qa and Qb are connected tothe gate line GL and the data line DL, and the third switching elementQc is connected to an output terminal of the second switching element Qband the divided reference voltage line RL.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first switching element Qa and thesecond switching element Qb are three-terminal elements such as a thinfilm transistor, control terminals thereof are connected to the gateline GL, and input terminals thereof are connected to the data line DL.In such an embodiment, an output terminal of the first switching elementQa is connected to the first liquid crystal capacitor Clca, and anoutput terminal of the second switching element Qb is connected to aninput terminal of the second liquid crystal capacitor Clcb and the thirdswitching element Qc.

In such an embodiment, the third switching element Qc is athree-terminal element such as a thin film transistor, a controlterminal thereof is connected to the gate line GL, an input terminalthereof is connected to the second liquid crystal capacitor Clcb, and anoutput terminal thereof is connected to the divided reference voltageline RL.

When a gate on signal is applied to the gate line GL, the firstswitching element Qa, the second switching element Qb and the thirdswitching element Qc connected thereto are turned on. Accordingly, datavoltage applied to the data line DL is applied to a first subpixelelectrode PEa and a second subpixel electrode PEb through the turned-onfirst switching element Qa and second switching element Qb. In such anembodiment, the data voltages applied to the first subpixel electrodePEa and the second subpixel electrode PEb are substantially the same aseach other, and the first liquid crystal capacitor Clca and the secondliquid crystal capacitor Clcb are charged to substantially the samevalue by a difference between a common voltage and the data voltage.Simultaneously, the voltage charged in the second liquid crystalcapacitor Clcb is divided through the turned-on third switching elementQc. As a result, a voltage value charged in the second liquid crystalcapacitor Clcb is lowered by a difference between the common voltage andthe divided reference voltage. In such an embodiment, the voltagecharged in the first liquid crystal capacitor Clca is greater than thevoltage charged in the second liquid crystal capacitor Clcb.

In such an embodiment, as described above, the voltage charged in thefirst liquid crystal capacitor Clca and the voltage charged in thesecond liquid crystal capacitor Clcb are different from each other. Insuch an embodiment, where the voltage of the first liquid crystalcapacitor Clca and the voltage of the second liquid crystal capacitorClcb are different from each other, inclined angles of liquid crystalmolecules are different from each other in the first subpixel and thesecond subpixel, such that luminance of the two subpixels varies.Accordingly, in such an embodiment, an image viewed from a side may besubstantially close to an image viewed from a front by controlling thevoltage of the first liquid crystal capacitor Clca and the voltage ofthe second liquid crystal capacitor Clcb, thereby substantiallyimproving side visibility.

In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the third switchingelement Qc connected to the second liquid crystal capacitor Clcb and thedivided reference voltage line RL is included to differentiate thevoltage charged in the first liquid crystal capacitor Clca and thevoltage charged in the second liquid crystal capacitor Clcb, but notbeing limited thereto. In an alternative exemplary embodiment of aliquid crystal display according to the invention, the second liquidcrystal capacitor Clcb may be connected to a step-down capacitor. Insuch an embodiment, the third switching element including a firstterminal connected to a step-down gate line, a second terminal connectedto the second liquid crystal capacitor Clcb and a third terminalconnected to the step-down capacitor is included to charge a portion ofcharges charged in the second liquid crystal capacitor Clcb in thestep-down capacitor, such that the charged voltages between the firstliquid crystal capacitor Clcb and the second liquid crystal capacitorClcb may be differently set. In another alternative exemplary embodimentof the liquid crystal display according to the invention, the firstliquid crystal capacitor Clcb and the second liquid crystal capacitorClcb are connected to different data lines, respectively, to receivedifferent data voltages, and as a result, the charged voltages betweenthe first liquid crystal capacitor Clcb and the second liquid crystalcapacitor Clcb may be differently set. In an exemplary embodiment, thecharged voltages between the first liquid crystal capacitor Clcb and thesecond liquid crystal capacitor Clcb may be differently set usingvarious methods.

Now, a structure of an exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystaldisplay will be simply described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. FIG. 2is a top plan view of a pixel of an exemplary embodiment of the liquidcrystal display according to the invention, and FIG. 3 is across-sectional view taken along line III-III of the liquid crystaldisplay of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a unit region of a pixelelectrode of an exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystal displayaccording to the invention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating aprocess in which liquid crystal molecules have pretilts using aprepolymer polymerized by light such as ultraviolet light.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the liquid crystal display includes a lowerpanel 100 and an upper panel 200 disposed opposite to, e.g., facing,each other, a liquid crystal layer 3 interposed between the lower andupper panels 100 and 200, and a pair of polarizers (not illustrated)disposed on, e.g., attached to, outer surfaces of the lower and upperpanels 100 and 200.

First, the lower panel 100 will be described.

The lower panel 100 includes a first insulation substrate 110 includingtransparent glass, plastic, or the like. A gate conductor including agate line 121 and a divided reference voltage line 131 is disposed onthe first insulation substrate 110.

The gate line 121 includes a wide end portion (not illustrated) forconnection with a first gate electrode 124 a, a second gate electrode124 b, a third gate electrode 124 c, and other layers or an externaldriving circuit.

The divided reference voltage line 131 is connected to first storageelectrodes 135 and 136 and a reference electrode 137. Second storageelectrodes 138 and 139, which are not connected to the divided referencevoltage line 131, are disposed on the first insulation substrate 110 andoverlap a second subpixel electrode 191 b.

A gate insulating layer 140 is disposed on the gate line 121 and thedivided reference voltage line 131.

A first semiconductor 154 a, a second semiconductor 154 b and a thirdsemiconductor 154 c are disposed on the gate insulating layer 140.

A plurality of ohmic contacts 163 a, 165 a, 163 b, 165 b, 163 c and 165c is disposed on the semiconductors 154 a, 154 b and 154 c.

A data conductor including a plurality of data lines 171 including afirst source electrode 173 a and a second source electrode 173 b, afirst drain electrode 175 a, a second drain electrode 175 b, a thirdsource electrode 173 c and a third drain electrode 175 c is disposed onthe ohmic contacts 163 a, 165 a, 163 b, 165 b, 163 c and 165 c and thegate insulating layer 140.

In an exemplary embodiment, the data conductor and the semiconductorsand ohmic contacts below the data conductor may be provided, e.g.,formed, during a same process using a single mask.

The data line 171 includes a wide end portion (not illustrated) forconnection with other layers or an external driving circuit.

The first gate electrode 124 a, the first source electrode 173 a and thefirst drain electrode 175 a collectively define the first thin filmtransistor Qa together with a first semiconductor island 154 a, and achannel of the first thin film transistor is formed in the semiconductor154 a between the first source electrode 173 a and the first drainelectrode 175 a. Similarly, the second gate electrode 124 b, the secondsource electrode 173 b and the second drain electrode 175 b collectivelydefine the second thin film transistor Qb together with a secondsemiconductor island 154 b, and a channel of the second thin filmtransistor is formed in the semiconductor 154 b between the secondsource electrode 173 b and the second drain electrode 175 b. The thirdgate electrode 124 c, the third source electrode 173 c and the thirddrain electrode 175 c collectively define the third thin film transistorQc together with a third semiconductor island 154 c, and a channel ofthe third thin film transistor is formed in the semiconductor 154 cbetween the third source electrode 173 c and the third drain electrode175 c.

The second drain electrode 175 b is connected to the third sourceelectrode 173 c and includes a widely extended extension 177.

A first passivation layer 180 p is disposed on the data conductor 171,173 c, 175 a, 175 b and 175 c, and exposed portions of thesemiconductors 154 a, 154 b and 154 c. The first passivation layer 180 pmay include an inorganic insulating layer including silicon nitride orsilicon oxide, for example. The first passivation layer 180 p mayeffectively prevent a pigment of a color filter 230 from flowing intothe exposed portions of the semiconductors 154 a, 154 b, and 154 c.

The color filter 230 is disposed on the first passivation layer 180 p.The color filter 230 extends in a vertical direction along two datalines which are adjacent to each other. A first light blocking member220 is positioned on the first passivation layer 180 p, an edge of thecolor filter 230 and the data line 171.

The first light blocking member 220 extends along the data line 171 andis positioned between two adjacent color filters 230. A width of thefirst light blocking member 220 may be greater than a width of the dataline 171. In such an embodiment, where the width of the first lightblocking member 220 is greater than the width of the data line 171, thefirst light blocking member 220 may effectively prevent light incidentfrom outside from being reflected onto the surface of the data line 171including metal and interfering with light passing through the liquidcrystal layer 3. In such an embodiment, the light is effectivelyprevented from being reflected onto the surface of the data line 171such that a contrast ratio of the liquid crystal display issubstantially improved.

A second passivation layer 180 q is disposed on the color filter 230 andthe first light blocking member 220.

The second passivation layer 180 q may include an inorganic insulatinglayer such as silicon nitride or silicon oxide. The second passivationlayer 180 q effectively prevents the color filter 230 from being liftedand effectively prevents a defect such as an afterimage which may occurwhen a screen is driven by suppressing contamination of the liquidcrystal layer 3 due to an organic material such as a solvent which mayflows in from the color filter 230.

A first contact hole 185 a and a second contact hole 185 b, which exposethe first drain electrode 175 a and the second drain electrode 175 b,respectively, are defined, e.g., formed, in the first passivation layer180 p and the second passivation layer 180 q.

A third contact hole 185 c that exposes a portion of the referenceelectrode 137 and a portion of the third drain electrode 175 c is formedin the first passivation layer 180 p, the second passivation layer 180 qand the gate insulating layer 140, and the third contact hole 185 c iscovered by a connecting member 195. The connecting member 195electrically connects the reference electrode 137 and the third drainelectrode 175 c, which are exposed through the third contact hole 185 c.

A plurality of pixel electrodes 191 is disposed on the secondpassivation layer 180 q. Each of the pixel electrodes 191 is spacedapart from each other with the gate line 121 therebetween, and the pixelelectrodes 191 includes a first subpixel electrode 191 a and a secondsubpixel electrode 191 b, which are adjacent to each other in a columndirection interposing the gate line 121. The pixel electrode 191 mayinclude a transparent material such as indium tin oxide (“ITO”) andindium zinc oxide (“IZO”), for example. The pixel electrode 191 mayinclude a transparent conductive material such as ITO and IZO, forexample, or a metal such as aluminum, silver, chromium, copper,molybdenum, titanium, or an alloy thereof, for example.

Each of the first subpixel electrode 191 a and the second subpixelelectrode 191 b include a unit electrode shown in FIG. 4, but not beinglimited thereto. In an exemplary embodiment, the unit electrode may bevariously modified.

The first subpixel electrode 191 a and the second subpixel electrode 191b are physically and electrically connected to the first drain electrode175 a and the second drain electrode 175 b, respectively, through thefirst contact hole 185 a and the second contact hole 185 b,respectively, and the first subpixel electrode 191 a and the secondsubpixel electrode 191 b receive data voltages from the first drainelectrode 175 a and the second drain electrode 175 b, respectively. Inan exemplary embodiment, a part of the data voltage applied to thesecond drain electrode 175 b is divided through the third sourceelectrode 173 c, such that a magnitude of the voltage applied to thefirst subpixel electrode 191 a is greater than a magnitude of voltageapplied to the second subpixel electrode 191 b.

The first subpixel electrode 191 a and the second subpixel electrode 191b applied with the data voltages generate an electric field togetherwith a common electrode 270 of the upper panel 200 to determinedirections of liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer 3between the pixel and common electrodes 191 and 270. Luminance of lightpassing through the liquid crystal layer 3 changes according to thedetermined directions of the liquid crystal molecules. Though the liquidcrystal display according to the embodiment includes the commonelectrode 270 of the upper panel 200, the liquid crystal displayaccording to another embodiment of the present invention includes acommon electrode disposed on the lower panel 100. Further, the liquidcrystal display according to another embodiment of the present inventionfurther includes additional electrode to generate an electric field tothe liquid crystal layer.

A second light blocking member 330 is positioned on the pixel electrode191. The second light blocking member 330 is disposed to coversubstantially an entire of a region, in which the first transistor Qa,the second transistor Qb, the third transistor Qc and the first to thirdcontact holes 185 a, 185 b, and 185 c are disposed, and extends in thesame direction as the gate line 121 and crosses a portion of the dataline 171. The second light blocking member 330 overlap at least aportion of the two data lines 171 which are disposed at both sides of apixel area such that light leakage that may occur around the data line171 and the gate line 121 and light leakage in a region, where the firsttransistor Qa, the second transistor Qb and the third transistor Qc arepositioned, are effectively prevented.

In an exemplary embodiment, the second light blocking member 330 may beprovided after providing the first passivation layer 180 p, the colorfilter 230 and the second passivation layer 180 q in the region wherethe first transistor Qa, the second transistor Qb, the third transistorQc and the first to third contact holes 185 a, 185 b, and 185 c arepositioned, such that the positions of the first transistor Qa, thesecond transistor Qb, the third transistor Qc and the first to thirdcontact holes 185 a, 185 b and 185 c are efficiently distinguished.

Hereinafter, the upper panel 200 will be described.

The upper panel 200 includes a second insulation substrate 210 and acommon electrode 270 disposed on the second insulation substrate 210. Anupper alignment layer (not shown) is disposed on the common electrode270. In an exemplary embodiment, the upper alignment layer may be avertical alignment layer. Though the liquid crystal display according tothe embodiment includes the common electrode 270 of the upper panel 200,the liquid crystal display according to another embodiment of thepresent invention includes a common electrode disposed on the lowerpanel 100. Further, the liquid crystal display according to anotherembodiment of the present invention further includes additionalelectrode to generate an electric field to the liquid crystal layer.

In an exemplary embodiment, the liquid crystal layer 3 has negativedielectric anisotropy, and longitudinal axes of the liquid crystalmolecules in the liquid crystal layer 3 are aligned substantiallyvertical to surfaces, e.g., inner surfaces, of the lower and upperpanels 100 and 200 when the electric field is not generated therein.However, according to the liquid crystal display of another embodimentof the present invention, the liquid crystal molecules in the liquidcrystal layer 3 may be aligned substantially parallel to surfaces of thelower and upper panels 100 and 200.

A unit electrode of an exemplary embodiment of the subpixel electrode191 will now be described with reference to FIG. 4.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, in an exemplary embodiment, the overall shapeof the unit electrode is a quadrangle, and the unit electrode includes across stem including a horizontal stem 193 and a vertical stem 192substantially perpendicular to each other. In such an embodiment, theunit electrode is divided into a first subregion Da, a second subregionDb, a third subregion Dc and a fourth subregion Dd by the horizontalstem 193 and the vertical stem 192, and the first to fourth subregionsDa to Dd include a plurality of first minute branches 194 a, a pluralityof second minute branches 194 b, a plurality of third minute branches194 c, and a plurality of fourth minute branches 194 d, respectively.

The first minute branch 194 a extends obliquely in an upper leftdirection from the horizontal stem 193 or the vertical stem 192, and thesecond minute branch 194 b extends obliquely in an upper right directionfrom the horizontal stem 193 or the vertical stem 192. The third minutebranch 194 c extends obliquely in a lower left direction from thehorizontal stem 193 or the vertical stem 192, and the fourth minutebranch 194 d extends obliquely in a lower right direction from thehorizontal stem 193 or the vertical stem 192.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first to fourth minute branches 194 a,194 b, 194 c and 194 d form angles of about 45 or 135 degrees with thegate line 121 or the horizontal stem 193. In such an embodiment, theminute branches 194 a, 194 b, 194 c and 194 d of two adjacent subregionsDa, Db, Dc and Dd are substantially perpendicular to each other.

In an exemplary embodiment, widths of the minute branches 194 a, 194 b,194 c, and 194 d may be in a range of about 2.5 micrometers (μm) toabout 5.0 μm, and a distance between the adjacent minute branches 194 a,194 b, 194 c and 194 d in each subregion Da, Db, Dc or Dd may be in arange of about 2.5 μm to about 5.0 μm.

According to an alternative exemplary embodiment of the invention, thewidths of the minute branches 194 a, 194 b, 194 c and 194 d may beincreased as being closer to the horizontal stem 193 or the verticalstem 192, and a difference between the largest portion and the smallestportion in the width of each minute branches 194 a, 194 b, 194 c or 194d may be in a range of about 0.2 μm to about 1.5 μm.

Referring back to FIGS. 2 and 3, the first subpixel electrode 191 a andthe second subpixel electrode 191 b are connected to the first drainelectrode 175 a and the second drain electrode 175 b, respectively,through the first contact hole 185 a and the second contact hole 185 b,respectively, and receive the data voltages from the first drainelectrode 175 a and the second drain electrode 175 b, respectively. Inan exemplary embodiment, sides of the first to fourth minute branches194 a, 194 b, 194 c and 194 d distort the electric field to generatehorizontal components that determine inclined directions of the liquidcrystal molecules 31. The horizontal components of the electric fieldare substantially parallel to the sides of the first to fourth minutebranches 194 a, 194 b, 194 c and 194 d. Accordingly, as illustrated inFIG. 4, the liquid crystal molecules 31 are inclined in directionssubstantially parallel to longitudinal directions of the minute branches194 a, 194 b, 194 c and 194 d. In such an embodiment, as each unit pixelelectrode 191 includes four subregions, e.g., the first to fourthsubregions Da to Dd, having different longitudinal directions of theminute branches 194 a, 194 b, 194 c and 194 d, the inclined directionsof the liquid crystal molecules 31 are substantially four directions,and four domains having different alignment directions of the liquidcrystal molecules 31 are provided on the liquid crystal layer 3. In suchan embodiment, when the inclined directions of the liquid crystalmolecules are various, a reference viewing angle of the liquid crystaldisplay is substantially increased.

Now, an method of an initial alignment of the liquid crystal molecules31 having pretilts will be described with reference to FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process in which liquid crystalmolecules have pretilts using a prepolymer polymerized by light such asultraviolet light.

First, a prepolymer 33, such as monomers cured by polymerization due tolight such as ultraviolet light, is injected between the lower and upperpanels 100 and 200 together with a liquid crystal material. Theprepolymer 33 may be reactive mesogen polymerized by the light such asultraviolet light. The prepolymer 33 may be injected in the alignmentlayer disposed on the lower panel 100 or the upper panel 200.

Next, the data voltages are applied to the first subpixel electrode 191a and the second subpixel electrode 191 b and common voltage is appliedto the common electrode 270 of the upper panel 200 to generate theelectric field in the liquid crystal layer 3 between the lower and upperpanels 100 and 200. Then, the liquid crystal molecules 31 of the liquidcrystal layer 3 are inclined in the directions substantially parallel tothe longitudinal directions of the minute branches 194 a, 194 b, 194 cand 194 d in response to the electric field through the processesdescribed above, and the liquid crystal molecules 31 are provided tohave total four inclined directions in a unit pixel.

When the electric field is generated and then the light such asultraviolet light is irradiated in the prepolymer 33, the prepolymer 33is polymerized to form a polymer 370 as illustrated in FIG. 5. Thepolymer 370 is formed to contact the panels 100 and 200. Alignmentdirections of the liquid crystal molecules 31 are determined to havepretilts in the directions described above. Accordingly, in a statewhere the voltage is not applied to the field generating electrodes 191and 270, the liquid crystal molecules 31 are aligned to have pretilts infour different directions. However, the polymer 370 is formed in theliquid crystal layer 3 or in the alignment layer disposed on the lowerpanel 100 or the upper panel 200.

Hereinafter, a detailed layout of the first light blocking member 220and the second light blocking member 330 of an exemplary embodiment ofthe liquid crystal display according to the invention will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 6 to 10. FIG. 6 is a top plan view of two pixelsof an exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystal display according tothe invention, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VIIof the liquid crystal display of FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectionalview taken along line VIII-VIII of the liquid crystal display of FIG. 6,and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX of theliquid crystal display of FIG. 6. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional viewtaken along line X-X of the liquid crystal display of FIG. 6.

Referring to FIGS. 6 to 10, in an exemplary embodiment, the color filter230, the first light blocking member 220 and the second light blockingmember 330 of the liquid crystal display are positioned on the lowerpanel 100 with the first to third thin film transistors Qa, Qb and Qc.In such an embodiment, light leakage due to arrangement error betweenthe lower and upper substrates 100 and 200 is effectively prevented byproviding the color filter, the light blocking member and the thin filmtransistor in a same substrate, e.g., the lower substrate 100.

In such an embodiment, the color filter 230 is positioned between twoadjacent data lines 171, and the first light blocking member 220 extendsalong each of the two adjacent data lines 171 positioned at both sidesof the pixel electrode 191. In an exemplary embodiment, a width of thefirst light blocking member 220 may be greater than a width of the dataline 171. In such an embodiment, where the width of the first lightblocking member 220 is greater than the width of the data line 171,light incident from the outside is effectively prevented from beingreflected onto the surface of the data line 171 including metal andinterfering with the light passing through the liquid crystal layer 3,such that a contrast ratio of the liquid crystal display issubstantially improved.

The second light blocking member 330 is disposed to cover substantiallyan entire of a region, in which the first transistor Qa, the secondtransistor Qb, the third transistor Qc and the first to third contactholes 185 a, 185 b, and 185 c are positioned, and the second lightblocking member 330 extends substantially in the same direction as thegate line 121 and crossing the data line 171, e.g., overlapping aportion of the data line 171. The second light blocking member 330overlaps at least a portion of each of the two data lines 171, which aredisposed at both sides of a corresponding pixel area, such that lightleakage that may occur around the data line 171, the gate line 121 andthe divided reference voltage line 131 is effectively prevented, andlight leakage in the region, where the first transistor Qa, the secondtransistor Qb and the third transistor Qc are positioned, is effectivelyprevented.

In an exemplary embodiment, the second light blocking member 330 may beprovided after providing the first passivation layer 180 p, the colorfilter 230 and the second passivation layer 180 q in the region wherethe first transistor Qa, the second transistor Qb, the third transistorQc and the first to third contact holes 185 a, 185 b and 185 c arepositioned, such that the positions of the first transistor Qa, thesecond transistor Qb, the third transistor Qc and the first to thirdcontact holes 185 a, 185 b and 185 c are efficiently distinguished. Insuch an embodiment, when defects occur in the first transistor Qa, thesecond transistor Qb and the third transistor Qc during themanufacturing process, the defects of the first transistor Qa, thesecond transistor Qb and the third transistor Qc may be repaired beforethe second light blocking member 330 is provided. In such an embodiment,the color filter 230 is provided in the region, where the firsttransistor Qa, the second transistor Qb and the third transistor Qc arepositioned and covered by the second light blocking member 330 afterrepairing the defects, to effectively prevent the light leakage, suchthat the light leakage in the region adjacent to the data line and thegate line is effectively prevented, a performance characteristic of thethin film transistor is substantially improved by not forming anunnecessary thin film to compensate the step of the light blockingmember which may occur in the case where the color filter is disposed onthe thin film transistor and the light blocking member is disposed onthe periphery of the thin film transistor to efficiently repair the thinfilm transistor. In such an embodiment, light leakage due to thearrangement error is effectively prevented by providing the color filterand the light blocking member on the lower panel 100, e.g., the thinfilm transistor array panel.

Referring to FIG. 7, a height of an overlapping portion 324 of the firstlight blocking member 220 and the second light blocking member 330positioned on the data line 171 is greater than a height of the secondlight blocking member 330 positioned at another portion. Accordingly,the overlapping portion 324 of the first light blocking member 220 andthe second light blocking member 330 may be spaced apart from the upperpanel 200 opposed thereto by a first distance H1.

Referring to FIG. 9, the second light blocking member 330 includes afirst spacer part 325 having a larger thickness than a peripheralportion thereof. The first spacer part 325 is disposed to contact theupper panel 200. In an exemplary embodiment, the peripheral portion ofthe second light blocking member 330 and the first spacer part 325 aredisposed on the same layer, e.g., on the second passivation layer 180 q,such that a manufacturing process is substantially simplified and lightleakage that may occur around the first spacer part 325 is effectivelyprevented.

In an exemplary embodiment, the second light blocking member 330 extendsin a horizontal direction in the region where the first transistor Qa,the second transistor Qb, the third transistor Qc and the first to thirdcontact holes 185 a, 185 b and 185 c are positioned. In such anembodiment, the liquid crystal molecules 31 disposed between the regionwith the second light blocking member 330 and the region with the pixelelectrode 191 may be inclined toward the pixel electrode 191 by thesecond light blocking member 330 such that irregular movement of theliquid crystal molecules 31 disposed between the pixel electrode 191 andthe second light blocking member 330 is substantially reduced.

As described above, in an exemplary embodiment, the first spacer part325 may serve to maintain a cell gap between the lower and upper panels100 and 200 of the liquid crystal display, and as described withreference to FIG. 7, the overlapping portion 324 of the first lightblocking member 220 and the second light blocking member 330 may serveto maintain the cell gap when pressure or the like is applied from theoutside.

In an exemplary embodiment, referring to FIG. 10, the second lightblocking member 330 may include a second spacer part 326. A thickness ofthe second spacer part 326 is greater than a thickness of the peripheralportion of the second light blocking member 330, but may be less thanthe thickness of the first spacer part 325. The second spacer part 326may be spaced apart from the upper panel 200 opposed thereto by a seconddistance H2. In such an embodiment, the second spacer part 326 may serveto maintain a cell gap when the pressure or the like is applied from theoutside.

As described above with reference to FIG. 7, as the overlapping portion324 of the first light blocking member 220 and the second light blockingmember 330 maintains the cell gap when the pressure or the like isapplied from the outside, the second spacer part 326 of the second lightblocking member 330 may be omitted in an alternative exemplaryembodiment. In such an embodiment where the second light blocking member330 does not include the second spacer part 326, the second lightblocking member 330 may be provided to have two different thicknesses atthe first spacer part 325 and the peripheral area thereof such that thestep is easily controlled and thus accuracy in the process is improvedand manufacturing costs are reduced, as compared with an embodimentwhere the second light blocking member 330 have three portions havingthree different thicknesses by having both the first spacer part 325 andthe second spacer part 326.

In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, at least one of thefirst spacer part 325 and the second spacer part 326 may be disposed ineach pixel area. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, one of thefirst spacer part 325 and the second spacer part 326 are provided not inall of the pixel areas, but in some pixel areas of the pixel areas.

Now, an alternative exemplary embodiment of a liquid crystal displayaccording to the invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 11to 14. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative exemplaryembodiment of the liquid crystal display according to the invention,which corresponds to a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III ofthe liquid crystal display of FIG. 2. FIGS. 12 to 14 are cross-sectionalviews of an alternative exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystaldisplay according to the invention, which correspond to cross-sectionalviews taken along lines VII-VII, VIII-VIII and IV-IV of the liquidcrystal display of FIG. 6.

The liquid crystal display of FIGS. 11 to 14 is substantially the sameas the liquid crystal display of FIGS. 2, 3 and 6 to 10 except thesecond passivation layer 180 q. The same or like elements shown in FIGS.11 to 14 have been labeled with the same reference characters as usedabove to describe the exemplary embodiments of the liquid crystaldisplay shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6 to 10, and any repetitive detaileddescription thereof will hereinafter be omitted or simplified.

In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 11 to 14, the secondpassivation layer 180 q includes a lower layer 180 qa and an upper layer180 qb. The lower layer 180 qa of the second passivation layer 180 qincludes an organic insulating layer, and the upper layer 180 qb of thesecond passivation layer 180 q includes an inorganic insulating layersuch as silicon nitride or silicon oxide, for example. In an alternativeexemplary embodiment of the invention, the lower layer 180 qa of thesecond passivation layer 180 q may include an inorganic insulatinglayer, and the upper layer 180 qb of the second passivation layer 180 qmay include an organic insulating layer.

As described above, an exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystaldisplay according to the invention includes the color filter 230disposed between the two adjacent data lines 171, the first lightblocking member 220 disposed along the data line 171, and the secondlight blocking member 330 disposed on the color filter 220 covering thethin film transistors, and the first light blocking member 220 and thesecond light blocking member 330 are overlapping each other.Accordingly, light leakage in the region adjacent to the data line andthe gate line is effectively prevented while the light leakage due tothe arrangement error is effectively prevented by providing the colorfilter and the light blocking member on the thin film transistor arraypanel, e.g., the lower panel 100, and a performance characteristic ofthe thin film transistor is substantially improved by not forming anunnecessary thin film to compensate the step of the light blockingmember which may occur in the case where the color filter is disposed onthe thin film transistor and the light blocking member is disposed onthe periphery of the thin film transistor to efficiently repair the thinfilm transistor.

In such an embodiment, the overlapping portion of the first lightblocking member and the second light blocking member serve as thespacer, and the manufacturing process is substantially simplifiedwithout a process for providing a sub spacer.

Other features of the liquid crystal display described with reference toFIGS. 2, 3, and 6 to 10 may be applied to the exemplary embodiment ofthe liquid crystal display of FIGS. 11 to 14.

Now, another alternative exemplary embodiment of a liquid crystaldisplay according to the invention will be described with reference toFIGS. 15 to 18. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of another alternativeexemplary embodiment of a liquid crystal display according to theinvention, which corresponds to a cross-sectional view taken along lineIII-III of the liquid crystal display of FIG. 2. FIGS. 16 to 18 arecross-sectional views of another alternative exemplary embodiment of theliquid crystal display according to the invention, which correspond tothe cross-sectional views taken along lines VII-VII, VIII-VIII and IV-IVof the liquid crystal display of FIG. 6.

The liquid crystal display of FIGS. 15 to 18 is substantially the sameas the liquid crystal display shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6 to 10. The sameor like elements shown in FIGS. 15 to 18 have been labeled with the samereference characters as used above to describe the exemplary embodimentsof the liquid crystal display shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6 to 10, and anyrepetitive detailed description thereof will hereinafter be omitted orsimplified.

In an exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystal display, as shown inFIGS. 15 to 18, the second passivation layer 180 q may be omitted.

As described above, an exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystaldisplay according to the invention includes the color filter 230disposed between the two adjacent data lines 171, the first lightblocking member 220 disposed along the data line 171, and the secondlight blocking member 330 disposed on the color filter 220 covering thethin film transistors, and the first light blocking member 220 and thesecond light blocking member 330 are overlapping each other.Accordingly, light leakage in the region adjacent to the data line andthe gate line is effectively prevented while the light leakage due tothe arrangement error is effectively prevented by providing the colorfilter and the light blocking member on the thin film transistor arraypanel, e.g., the lower panel 100, and a performance characteristic ofthe thin film transistor is substantially improved by not forming anunnecessary thin film to compensate the step of the light blockingmember which may occur in the case where the color filter is disposed onthe thin film transistor and the light blocking member is disposed onthe periphery of the thin film transistor to efficiently repair the thinfilm transistor.

In such an embodiment, the overlapping portion of the first lightblocking member and the second light blocking member serve as thespacer, and the manufacturing process is substantially simplifiedwithout a process for providing a sub space.

Other features of the liquid crystal display described with reference toFIGS. 2, 3, and 6 to 10 may be applied to the exemplary embodiment ofthe liquid crystal display of FIGS. 15 to 18.

Then, another alternative exemplary embodiment of a liquid crystaldisplay according to the invention will be described with reference toFIGS. 19 to 22. FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of another alternativeexemplary embodiment of a liquid crystal display according to theinvention, which corresponds to a cross-sectional view taken along lineIII-III of the liquid crystal display of FIG. 2. FIGS. 20 to 22 arecross-sectional views of another alternative exemplary embodiment of theliquid crystal display according to the invention, which correspond tocross-sectional views taken along lines VII-VII, VIII-VIII and IV-IV ofthe liquid crystal display of FIG. 6.

The liquid crystal display of FIGS. 19 to 22 is substantially the sameas the liquid crystal display of FIGS. 2, 3, and 6 to 10 except for thesecond passivation layer 180 q. The same or like elements shown in FIGS.19 to 22 have been labeled with the same reference characters as usedabove to describe the exemplary embodiments of the liquid crystaldisplay shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6 to 10, and any repetitive detaileddescription thereof will hereinafter be omitted or simplified.

In an exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystal display, as shown inFIGS. 19 to 22, a portion of the second passivation layer 180 q near theoverlapping portion of the first light blocking member 220 and thesecond light blocking member 330 may be omitted.

As described above, an exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystaldisplay according to the invention includes the color filter 230disposed between the two adjacent data lines 171, the first lightblocking member 220 disposed along the data line 171, and the secondlight blocking member 330 disposed on the color filter 220 covering thethin film transistors, and the first light blocking member 220 and thesecond light blocking member 330 are overlapping each other.Accordingly, light leakage in the region adjacent to the data line andthe gate line is effectively prevented while the light leakage due tothe arrangement error is effectively prevented by providing the colorfilter and the light blocking member on the thin film transistor arraypanel, e.g., the lower panel 100, and a performance characteristic ofthe thin film transistor is substantially improved by not forming anunnecessary thin film to compensate the step of the light blockingmember which may occur in the case where the color filter is disposed onthe thin film transistor and the light blocking member is disposed onthe periphery of the thin film transistor to efficiently repair the thinfilm transistor.

In such an embodiment, the overlapping portion of the first lightblocking member and the second light blocking member serve as thespacer, and the manufacturing process is substantially simplifiedwithout a process for providing a sub space.

Other features of the liquid crystal display described with reference toFIGS. 2, 3 and 6 to 10 may be applied to the exemplary embodiment of theliquid crystal display of FIGS. 19 to 22.

Then, another alternative exemplary embodiment of a liquid crystaldisplay according to the invention will be described with reference toFIGS. 23 to 26. FIG. 23 is a top plan view illustrating two pixels ofanother alternative exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystal displayaccording to the invention. FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view takenalong line XXIV-XXIV of the liquid crystal display of FIG. 23. FIG. 25is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXV-XXV of the liquid crystaldisplay of FIG. 23. FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view taken along lineXXVI-XXVI of the liquid crystal display of FIG. 23.

The liquid crystal display of FIGS. 23 to 26 is substantially the sameas the liquid crystal display shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6 to 10 except forthe first light blocking member 220. The same or like elements shown inFIGS. 23 to 26 have been labeled with the same reference characters asused above to describe the exemplary embodiments of the liquid crystaldisplay shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6 to 10, and any repetitive detaileddescription thereof will hereinafter be omitted or simplified.

In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 23 to 26, a width of thefirst light blocking member 220 of the liquid crystal display has afirst width W1 in an overlapping region, at which the first lightblocking member 220 overlaps the second light blocking member 330, andthe first light blocking member 220 has a second width W2 in the otherregions thereof. In such an embodiment, the first width W1 is less thanthe second width W2. In one exemplary embodiment, for example, thesecond width W2 of the first light blocking member 220 may be about 7μm, and the first width W1 may be greater than the width of the dataline 171.

In such an embodiment, the height of an upper surface of the first lightblocking member 220 at the overlapping portion of the first lightblocking member 220 and the second light blocking member 330 on the dataline 171 may be reduced by decreasing the width of the first lightblocking member 220 at the overlapping portion of the first lightblocking member 220 and the second light blocking member 330. In oneexemplary embodiment, for example, a step between the overlappingportion of the first light blocking member 220 and the second lightblocking member 330 and the peripheral area may be about 0.8 μm or less.

In such an embodiment, the step between the peripheral area and theoverlapping portion 324 of the first light blocking member 220 and thesecond light blocking member 330 is decreased by decreasing the heightof the upper surface of the overlapping portion 324 of the first lightblocking member 220 and the second light blocking member 330 such thatirregular movement of the liquid crystal molecules, which may occur inthe overlapping portion 324 of the first light blocking member 220 andthe second light blocking member 330, is substantially reduced, andlight leakage due to the irregular movement of the liquid crystalmolecules is thereby effectively prevented.

In such an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 25, in the first light blockingmember 220, a width of the first light blocking member 220 which is notoverlapping the second light blocking member 330 is greater than thewidth of the data line 171 such that the first light blocking member 220effectively prevents the light incident from the outside from beingreflected onto the surface of the data line 171 including metal.Accordingly, the light is effectively prevented from being reflectedonto the surface of the data line 171, which interferes with the lightpassing through the liquid crystal layer 3, and a contrast ratio of theliquid crystal display is thereby effectively prevented fromdeteriorating.

In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 23 to 26, the secondpassivation layer 180 q may be a single layer, but not being limitedthereto. In an alternative exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystaldisplay according to the invention, the second passivation layer 180 qincludes a lower layer and an upper layer. In such an embodiment, thelower layer of the second passivation layer 180 q may include an organicinsulating layer, and the upper layer of the second passivation layer180 q may include an inorganic insulating layer such as silicon nitrideor silicon oxide. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the lowerlayer of the second passivation layer 180 q may include an inorganicinsulating layer, and the upper layer of the second passivation layer180 q may include an organic insulating layer.

In another alternative exemplary embodiment of the invention, the secondpassivation layer 180 q may be omitted. In one exemplary embodiment, forexample, the second passivation layer 180 q may also be omitted only atthe overlapping portion of the first light blocking member 220 and thesecond light blocking member 330.

Other features of the liquid crystal display described with reference toFIGS. 2, 3 and 6 to 10 may be applied to the exemplary embodiment of theliquid crystal display of FIGS. 23 to 26.

Hereinafter, an alternative exemplary embodiment of a liquid crystaldisplay according to the invention will be described with reference toFIGS. 27 to 31. FIG. 27 is a top plan view illustrating two pixels ofanother alternative exemplary embodiment of a liquid crystal displayaccording to the invention. FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view takenalong line XXVIII-XXVIII of the liquid crystal display of FIG. 27. FIG.29 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXIX-XXIX of the liquidcrystal display of FIG. 27. FIG. 30 is a cross-sectional view takenalong line XXX-XXX of the liquid crystal display of FIG. 27. FIG. 31 isa cross-sectional view taken along line XXXI-XXXI of the liquid crystaldisplay of FIG. 27.

The liquid crystal display of FIGS. 27 to 31 is substantially the sameas the liquid crystal display shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 6 to 10 and theliquid crystal display shown in FIGS. 23 to 26 except for the firstlight blocking member 220. The same or like elements shown in FIGS. 27to 31 have been labeled with the same reference characters as used aboveto describe the exemplary embodiments of the liquid crystal displayshown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6 to 10, and any repetitive detailed descriptionthereof will hereinafter be omitted or simplified.

In an exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystal display, as shown inFIGS. 27 to 31, the first light blocking member 220 is partially removedat the overlapping portion of the second light blocking member 330 andthe data line 171. In an exemplary embodiment, a height of the firstlight blocking member 220 at the overlapping portion is decreased asbeing closer to a center of the second light blocking member 330. Insuch an embodiment, the height of the first light blocking member 220has a first thickness D1 at the portion which is not overlapping thesecond light blocking member 330 and may have a second thickness D2 atthe portion which is overlapping the second light blocking member 330.The first thickness D1 is greater than the second thickness D2. In anexemplary embodiment, the first light blocking member 220 issubstantially removed at the horizontal center of the overlappingportion of the second light blocking member 330 and the data line 171.In one exemplary embodiment, for example, the height of the first lightblocking member 220 may be about zero (0) at the center of theoverlapping portion of the second light blocking member 330 and the dataline 171.

In such an embodiment, the first light blocking member 220 is partiallyremoved at the overlapping portion of the second light blocking member330 and the data line 171, and a thickness of an end of the first lightblocking member 220 is gradually decreased to reduce a step differencedue to the overlapping of the first light blocking member 220 and thesecond light blocking member 330 on the data line 171 such thatirregular movement of the liquid crystal molecules, which may occur inthe overlapping portion 324 of the first light blocking member 220 andthe second light blocking member 330, is effectively prevented, andlight leakage due to the irregular movement of the liquid crystalmolecules is thereby effectively prevented. In an exemplary embodiment,a step between the overlapping portion of the first light blockingmember 220 and the second light blocking member 330 and the peripheralarea may be about 0.8 μm or less.

In such an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 30, the width of the first lightblocking member 220 may be greater than the width of the data line 171such that the first light blocking member 220 may effectively preventthe light incident from the outside from being reflected onto thesurface of the data line 171 including metal. In such an embodiment, acontrast ratio of the liquid crystal display is effectively preventedfrom deteriorating by the light that is reflected onto the surface ofthe data line 171 and interferes with the light passing through theliquid crystal layer 3.

In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 27 to 31, the secondpassivation layer 180 q is illustrated as a single layer, but not beinglimited thereto. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the secondpassivation layer 180 q includes a lower layer and an upper layer. Insuch an embodiment, the lower layer of the second passivation layer 180q may include an organic insulating layer, and the upper layer of thesecond passivation layer 180 q may include an inorganic insulating layersuch as silicon nitride or silicon oxide, for example. In an alternativeexemplary embodiment, the lower layer of the second passivation layer180 q may include an inorganic insulating layer, and the upper layer ofthe second passivation layer 180 q may include an organic insulatinglayer.

In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the second passivation layer 180q may be omitted. In such an embodiment, the second passivation layer180 q may be omitted only at the overlapping portion of the first lightblocking member 220 and the second light blocking member 330.

As described above, an exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystaldisplay according to the invention includes the color filter 230disposed between the two adjacent data lines 171, the first lightblocking member 220 disposed along the data line 171, and the secondlight blocking member 330 disposed on the color filter 220 covering thethin film transistors, and the first light blocking member 220 and thesecond light blocking member 330 are overlapping each other.Accordingly, light leakage in the region adjacent to the data line andthe gate line is effectively prevented while the light leakage due tothe arrangement error is effectively prevented by providing the colorfilter and the light blocking member on the thin film transistor arraypanel, e.g., the lower panel 100, and a performance characteristic ofthe thin film transistor is substantially improved by not forming anunnecessary thin film to compensate the step of the light blockingmember which may occur in the case where the color filter is disposed onthe thin film transistor and the light blocking member is disposed onthe periphery of the thin film transistor to efficiently repair the thinfilm transistor.

In such an embodiment, the overlapping portion of the first lightblocking member and the second light blocking member serve as thespacer, and the manufacturing process is substantially simplifiedwithout a process for providing a sub spacer.

Further, a step difference at the periphery due to the overlapping ofthe first light blocking member and the second light blocking member isreduced such that irregular movement of the liquid crystal molecules,which may occur in the overlapping portion of the first light blockingmember and the second light blocking member, is effectively prevented,and light leakage due to the irregular movement of the liquid crystalmolecules is thereby effectively prevented.

In the illustrated exemplary embodiments described above, the thirdswitching element Qc connected to the second liquid crystal capacitorClcb and the divided reference voltage line RL is included todifferentiate the voltage charged in the first liquid crystal capacitorClca and the voltage charged in the second liquid crystal capacitorClcb, but being limited thereto. In an alternative exemplary embodimentof the invention, the second liquid crystal capacitor Clcb may beconnected to a step-down capacitor. In such an embodiment, the thirdswitching element including a first terminal connected to a step-downgate line, a second terminal connected to the second liquid crystalcapacitor Clcb and a third terminal connected to the step-down capacitoris included to charge some of charges charged in the second liquidcrystal capacitor Clcb in the step-down capacitor, such that the chargedvoltages between the first liquid crystal capacitor Clcb and the secondliquid crystal capacitor Clcb may be differently set. In anotheralternative exemplary embodiment, the first liquid crystal capacitorClcb and the second liquid crystal capacitor Clcb are connected todifferent data lines, respectively, to receive different data voltagessuch that the charged voltages between the first liquid crystalcapacitor Clcb and the second liquid crystal capacitor Clcb may bedifferently set. In an exemplary embodiment, the charged voltagesbetween the first liquid crystal capacitor Clcb and the second liquidcrystal capacitor Clcb may be differently set by various differentmethods.

Then, another alternative exemplary embodiment of a liquid crystaldisplay according to the invention liquid crystal display will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 32 to 36. FIG. 32 is a top plan viewof two pixels of another alternative exemplary embodiment of the liquidcrystal display according to the invention. FIG. 33 is a cross-sectionalview taken along line XXXIII-XXXIII of the liquid crystal display ofFIG. 32. FIG. 34 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXXIV-XXXIVof the liquid crystal display of FIG. 32. FIG. 35 is a cross-sectionalview taken along line XXXV-XXXV of the liquid crystal display of FIG.32. FIG. 36 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXXVI-XXXVI ofthe liquid crystal display of FIG. 32.

The liquid crystal display of FIGS. 32 to 36 is substantially the sameas the liquid crystal display shown in FIGS. 6 to 10 except the datalines. The same or like elements shown in FIGS. 32 to 36 have beenlabeled with the same reference characters as used above to describe theexemplary embodiments of the liquid crystal display shown in FIGS. 6 to10, and any repetitive detailed description thereof will hereinafter beomitted or simplified.

In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 32, two data linesincluding a first data line 171 a and a second data line 171 b arepositioned between two pixels. The first data line 171 a is positionedat a left side of a pixel, and the second data line 171 b is positionedat a right side of the pixel. The first subpixel electrode 191 a of eachpixel receives data voltage from the first source electrode 173 aconnected to the first data line 171 a and receives data voltage fromthe second source electrode 173 b connected to the second data line 171b.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first thin film transistor, which isdefined by the first gate electrode 124 a extending from the gate line121, the first semiconductor 154 a, the first source electrode 173 aconnected to the first data line 171 a, and the first drain electrode175 a, is connected to the first subpixel electrode 191 a, and thesecond thin film transistor, which is defined by the second gateelectrode 124 b extending from the gate line 121, the secondsemiconductor 154 b, the second source electrode 173 b connected to thesecond data line 171 b, and the second drain electrode 175 b, isconnected to the second subpixel electrode 191 b. The first subpixelelectrode 191 a is connected to the first drain electrode 175 a throughthe first contact hole 185 a to receive the data voltage from the firstdrain electrode 175 a, and the second subpixel electrode 191 b isconnected to the second drain electrode 175 b through the second contacthole 185 b to receive the data voltage from the second drain electrode175 b.

Referring to FIGS. 32 and 33, the first light blocking member 220 ispositioned between two color filters 230 positioned at two pixels, andpositioned to cover the first data line 171 a and the second data line171 b positioned between the two pixels. A height of the overlappingportion of the first light blocking member 220 and the second lightblocking member 330 positioned on the first data line 171 a and thesecond data line 171 b is greater than a height of the second lightblocking member 330 positioned at other portions. Accordingly, the firstdata line 171 a and the second data line 171 b, and a first overlappingportion 324 a of the first light blocking member 220 and the secondlight blocking member 330 may be spaced apart from the upper panel 200opposed thereto by a third distance H1 a.

In such an embodiment, similarly to the exemplary embodiments describedabove, the second light blocking member 330 of the liquid crystaldisplay extends in a horizontal direction in a region where the thinfilm transistor connected to the first subpixel electrode 191 a and thesecond subpixel electrode 191 b, and the first and second contact holes185 a and 185 b are positioned.

Referring to FIG. 35, the second light blocking member 330 includes afirst spacer part 325 in the middle area thereof and having a greaterthickness than the other area thereof. The first spacer part 325 isdisposed to contact the upper panel 200. The second light blockingmember 330 and the first spacer part 325 are disposed on a same layersuch that the manufacturing process is simplified, and light leakage,which may occur around the first spacer part 325, may be effectivelyprevented.

Referring to FIG. 36, the second light blocking member 330 may include asecond spacer part 326. The second spacer part 326 is thicker than thesecond light blocking member 330 in the other area, but may be thinnerthan the first spacer part 325. The second spacer part 326 may be spacedapart from the upper panel 200 opposed thereto by a second distance H2.The second spacer part 326 may serve to additionally maintain a cell gapwhen pressure or the like is applied from the outside.

In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the second spacer part 326 ofthe second light blocking member 330 may be omitted. In such anembodiment, where the second light blocking member 330 does not includethe second spacer part 326, the second light blocking member 330 mayhave two portions having different thicknesses by the first spacer part325 and the other area thereof such that the step may be efficientlycontrolled and thus accuracy in the process is improved andmanufacturing costs are reduced, as compared with the embodiment wherethe second light blocking member 330 has three portions having differentthicknesses by the first spacer part 325 and the second spacer part 326.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first spacer part 325 and the secondspacer part 326 described above may not be provided in all of the pixelareas, but may be provided only in a portion of the plurality of pixelareas.

In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 34, the first lightblocking member 220 is disposed to cover both the first data line 171 aand the second data line 171 b, which are adjacent to each other to bepositioned between two pixels, such that the first light blocking member220 effectively prevents the light incident from the outside from beingreflected onto the surface of the data line 171 including metal.Accordingly, a contrast ratio of the liquid crystal display iseffectively prevented from deteriorating by the light that is reflectedonto the surface of the data line 171 and interferes with the lightpassing through the liquid crystal layer 3.

In an exemplary embodiment, the width or the height of the first lightblocking member 220 may be constant. In an alternative exemplaryembodiment, similarly to the exemplary embodiment described withreference to FIGS. 23 to 26, the width of the first light blockingmember 220 may vary according to position, e.g., the width of the firstlight blocking member 220 in the remaining region may be greater thanthe width of the first light blocking member 220 in the regionoverlapping the second light blocking member 330. In another alternativeexemplary embodiment of the invention, similarly to the exemplaryembodiment described with reference to FIGS. 27 to 31, the first lightblocking member 220 may be partially removed from the second lightblocking member 330 at the overlapping portion of the first data line171 a and the second data line 171 b, and the height of the first lightblocking member 220 may be decreased as being closer to the center ofthe second light blocking member 330.

In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 33 to 36, the secondpassivation layer 180 q may be a single layer, but not being limitedthereto. In an alternative exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystaldisplay according to the invention, the second passivation layer 180 qmay include a lower layer and an upper layer. In such an embodiment, thelower layer of the second passivation layer 180 q may include an organicinsulating layer, and the upper layer of the second passivation layer180 q may include an inorganic insulating layer such as silicon nitrideor silicon oxide, for example. In another alternative exemplaryembodiment, the lower layer of the second passivation layer 180 q mayinclude an inorganic insulating layer, and the upper layer of the secondpassivation layer 180 q may include an organic insulating layer.

In another alternative exemplary embodiment, the second passivationlayer 180 q may be omitted, e.g., the second passivation layer 180 q mayalso be omitted only at the overlapping portion of the first lightblocking member 220 and the second light blocking member 330.

Other features of the liquid crystal display shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6to 10, the liquid crystal display shown in FIGS. 23 to 26, and theliquid crystal display shown in FIGS. 27 to 31 may be applied to theexemplary embodiment of the liquid crystal display of FIGS. 32 to 36.

Then, another alternative exemplary embodiment of a liquid crystaldisplay according to the invention will be described with reference toFIGS. 37 to 39. FIG. 37 is a top plan view of two pixels of anotheralternative exemplary embodiment of a liquid crystal display accordingto the invention. FIG. 38 is a cross-sectional view taken along lineXXXVIII-XXXVIII of the liquid crystal display of FIG. 37. FIG. 39 is across-sectional view of taken along line XXXIX-XXXIX the liquid crystaldisplay of FIG. 37.

The liquid crystal display of FIGS. 37 to 39 is substantially the sameas the liquid crystal display shown in FIGS. 6 to 10 except that ashielding electrode. The same or like elements shown in FIGS. 37 to 39have been labeled with the same reference characters as used above todescribe the exemplary embodiments of the liquid crystal display shownin FIGS. 6 to 10, and any repetitive detailed description thereof willhereinafter be omitted or simplified.

In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 37 to 39, a shieldingelectrode 88 is disposed on the data line 171. In such an embodiment,the shielding electrode 88 may receive common voltage and interruptelectromagnetic interference between the data line 171 and the pixelelectrodes 191 a and 191 b, and between the data line 171 and the commonelectrode 270 such that voltage distortion of the pixel electrodes 191 aand 191 b and signal delay of the data voltage transferred by the dataline 171 are substantially reduced.

Referring to FIG. 38, similarly to the exemplary embodiment of theliquid crystal display shown in FIGS. 6 to 10, the height of theoverlapping portion 324 of the first light blocking member 220 and thesecond light blocking member 330 positioned on the data line 171 isgreater than the height of the second light blocking member 330positioned at the remaining portion. Accordingly, the overlappingportion 324 of the first light blocking member 220 and the second lightblocking member 330 may be spaced apart from the upper panel 200 opposedthereto by a first distance H1. When the pressure or the like is appliedfrom the outside, the overlapping portion 324 of the first lightblocking member 220 and the second light blocking member 330 may serveto additionally maintain the cell gap.

In an exemplary embodiment, the width of the first light blocking member220 may be greater than the width of the data line 171. In such anembodiment, where the width of the first light blocking member 220 isgreater than the width of the data line 171, light incident from theoutside is effectively prevented from being reflected onto the surfaceof the data line 171 including metal, and a contrast ratio of the liquidcrystal display is effectively prevented from deteriorating by the lightthat is reflected onto the surface of the data line 171 and interfereswith the light passing through the liquid crystal layer 3.

In an exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystal display, the width orthe height of the first light blocking member 220 is not substantiallychanged according to a position, e.g., substantially constant, but notbeing limited thereto. In an alternative exemplary embodiment of theinvention, similarly to the exemplary embodiment described withreference to FIGS. 23 to 26, the width of the first light blockingmember 220 in the remaining region may be greater than the width of thefirst light blocking member 220 in the region where the first lightblocking member 220 overlapping the second light blocking member 330. Inanother alternative exemplary embodiment of the invention, similarly tothe exemplary embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 27 to 31, thefirst light blocking member 220 may be partially removed from the secondlight blocking member 330 and the overlapping portion of the first dataline 171 a and the second data line 171 b, and the height of the firstlight blocking member 220 may be decreased as being closer to the centerof the second light blocking member 330.

In an exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystal display, as shown inFIGS. 38 and 39, the second passivation layer 180 q may be a singlelayer, but not being limited thereto. In an alternative exemplaryembodiment of the liquid crystal display according to the invention, thesecond passivation layer 180 q includes a lower layer and an upperlayer. In such an embodiment, the lower layer of the second passivationlayer 180 q may include an organic insulating layer, and the upper layerof the second passivation layer 180 q may include an inorganicinsulating layer such as silicon nitride or silicon oxide, for example.In another alternative exemplary embodiment of the invention, the lowerlayer of the second passivation layer 180 q may include an inorganicinsulating layer, and the upper layer of the second passivation layer180 q may include an organic insulating layer.

In an exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystal display according tothe invention, the second passivation layer 180 q may be omitted. Insuch an embodiment, the second passivation layer 180 q may be omittedonly at the overlapping portion of the first light blocking member 220and the second light blocking member 330.

Other features of the exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystal displaydescribed with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 6 to 10, the exemplaryembodiment of the liquid crystal display described with reference toFIGS. 23 to 26, and the exemplary embodiment of the liquid crystaldisplay described with reference to FIGS. 27 to 31 may be applied to theexemplary embodiment of the liquid crystal display of FIGS. 37 to 39.

While this invention has been described in connection with what ispresently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A liquid crystal display, comprising: a firstinsulation substrate; a gate line disposed on the first insulationsubstrate; a first data line and a second data line disposed on thefirst insulation substrate; a color filter disposed on the firstinsulation substrate and disposed between the first data line and thesecond data line; a first light blocking member disposed on the firstdata line and the second data line; and a second light blocking memberdisposed on the color filter and the first light blocking member,extending in the same direction as the gate line, and overlapping thefirst light blocking member on the first data line and the second dataline, wherein the first light blocking member comprises a first portionand a second portion, the first portion overlaps the second lightblocking member and the second portion dose not overlap the second lightblocking member, and a width of the first portion of the first lightblocking member is less than a width of the second portion of the firstlight blocking member.
 2. The liquid crystal display of claim 1, whereinthe width of the first light blocking member is greater than a width ofthe second data line.
 3. The liquid crystal display of claim 1, whereinthe second light blocking member includes a first portion, a secondportion and a third portion, and thicknesses of the first, second andthird portions are different from each other.
 4. The liquid crystaldisplay of claim 3, further comprising: a pixel electrode disposed onthe color filter, wherein the pixel electrode comprises a first subpixelelectrode and a second subpixel electrode separated from each other withthe gate line disposed between the first and second subpixel electrodes;a first thin film transistor connected to the first subpixel electrode;and a second thin film transistor connected to the second subpixelelectrode, wherein the second light blocking member extends along thegate line and covers the first thin film transistor and the second thinfilm transistor.
 5. The liquid crystal display of claim 4, wherein eachof the first subpixel electrode and the second subpixel electrodecomprises a plurality of stems, and a plurality of branch electrodesprotruding from the stems.
 6. The liquid crystal display of claim 1,further comprising: a pixel electrode disposed on the color filter,wherein the pixel electrode comprises a first subpixel electrode and asecond subpixel electrode separated from each other with the gate linedisposed between the first and second subpixel electrodes; a first thinfilm transistor connected to the first subpixel electrode; and a secondthin film transistor connected to the second subpixel electrode, whereinthe second light blocking member extends along the gate line and coversthe first thin film transistor and the second thin film transistor. 7.The liquid crystal display of claim 6, wherein each of the firstsubpixel electrode and the second subpixel electrode comprises aplurality of stems and a plurality of branch electrodes protruding fromthe stems.
 8. The liquid crystal display of claim 1, wherein the widthof the first portion of the first light blocking member is about 0.7micrometer.
 9. A liquid crystal display, comprising: a first insulationsubstrate; a gate line disposed on the first insulation substrate; afirst data line and a second data line disposed on the first insulationsubstrate; a color filter disposed on the first insulation substrate anddisposed between the first data line and the second data line; a firstlight blocking member disposed on the first data line and the seconddata line; and a second light blocking member disposed on the colorfilter and the first light blocking member, extending in the samedirection as the gate line, and overlapping the first light blockingmember on the first data line and the second data line, wherein a widthof the first light blocking member is substantially constant, the secondlight blocking member includes a first portion and a second portion, andthicknesses of the first and second portions are different from eachother.
 10. The liquid crystal display of claim 9, wherein the firstportion contacts a surface of a thin film which is disposed on a secondinsulation substrate disposed opposite to the first insulationsubstrate.
 11. The liquid crystal display of claim 10, wherein thesecond portion includes a first region overlapping the first lightblocking member and a second region including a remainder of the secondportion, and a distance between the first region and the surface of thethin film disposed on the second insulation substrate is less than adistance between the second region and the surface of the thin filmdisposed on the second insulation substrate.
 12. The liquid crystaldisplay of claim 11, further comprising: a pixel electrode disposed onthe color filter, wherein the pixel electrode comprises a first subpixelelectrode and a second subpixel electrode separated from each other withthe gate line disposed between the first and second subpixel electrodes;a first thin film transistor connected to the first subpixel electrode;and a second thin film transistor connected to the second subpixelelectrode, wherein the second light blocking member extends along thegate line and covers the first thin film transistor and the second thinfilm transistor.
 13. The liquid crystal display of claim 12, whereineach of the first subpixel electrode and the second subpixel electrodecomprises a plurality of stems and a plurality of branch electrodesprotruding from the stems.
 14. The liquid crystal display of claim 9,wherein the second light blocking member further includes a thirdportion, and thicknesses of the first, second and third portions aredifferent from each other.
 15. The liquid crystal display of claim 14,further comprising: a pixel electrode disposed on the color filter,wherein the pixel electrode comprises a first subpixel electrode and asecond subpixel electrode separated from each other with the gate linedisposed between the first and second subpixel electrodes; a first thinfilm transistor connected to the first subpixel electrode; and a secondthin film transistor connected to the second subpixel electrode, whereinthe second light blocking member extends along the gate line and coversthe first thin film transistor and the second thin film transistor. 16.The liquid crystal display of claim 15, wherein each of the firstsubpixel electrode and the second subpixel electrode comprises aplurality of stems and a plurality of branch electrodes protruding fromthe stems.
 17. The liquid crystal display of claim 9, furthercomprising: a pixel electrode disposed on the color filter and includinga first subpixel electrode and a second subpixel electrode separatedfrom each other with the gate line disposed between the first and secondsubpixel electrodes; a first thin film transistor connected to the firstsubpixel electrode; and a second thin film transistor connected to thesecond subpixel electrode, wherein the second light blocking memberextends along the gate line and covers the first thin film transistorand the second thin film transistor.